'He only made the effort when he saw top hats!' - tributes paid as dual Wokingham winner Selhurstpark Flyer dies at 32

Selhurstpark Flyer, one of the most popular sprinters of the 1990s and the first horse to win back-to-back Wokingham Handicaps at Royal Ascot for more than 60 years, has died at the remarkable age of 32.

Owned by Chris and Antonia Deuters, Selhurstpark Flyer was also trained by Jack Berry to win the same valuable six-furlong handicap at Epsom on Derby day in 1996 and again two years later.

"We actually had a theory that he only made the effort when he saw top hats and tailcoats," said Antonia Deuters. "He loved Epsom and he used to spearhead the field. He could stand in the stalls forever and a day but would then always take lengths out of the rest of the field leaving the stalls.

"Paul Roberts, who rode him so many times and who looked after him as well, used to take him out early and clear the sheep off Jack’s gallops. He didn't really work with other horses, he just liked to be on his own."

Bought as a yearling by William Muir for 2,500gns in his first season with a licence, Selhurstpark Flyer was then bought by the Deuters and sent to Berry at Cockermouth. The Deuters silks and the name carried by their star referred to Chris's lifetime support of Crystal Palace – both he and Antonia were made lifetime presidents of the club – while the owners' triple diamond silks paid tribute to the punting strategy adopted by Mrs Deuters on the couple's first days' racing at Hong Kong's Happy Valley.

In the 1997 Wokingham he held off the desperate late charge of Danetime, the subject of a huge gamble that dominated the post-race reporting.

"He wasn't fancied and we were obviously absolutely thrilled when he won," said Deuters, whose husband died in 2008. "The next day all the coverage was about Danetime, Michael Tabor and Gary Stevens. It was like we weren’t there. I was so thrilled for my husband when he won the second time because they finally both got the credit.

"The only shame the second time was that Paul Roberts was injured, with Carl Lowther on board that day." 

Selhurstpark Flyer, one of three Berry-trained winners at Royal Ascot alongside Bolshoi (King's Stand) and Rosselli (Norfolk) when he won his second Wokingham in 1998, retired from racing at the age of nine when running in his own memorial race at Epsom in July 2000 and, until his death, was almost certainly among the last horses to have been ridden by Willie Carson, Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery during his career.

He was put to sleep on Monday morning at the age of 32. Deuters said: "He came back to our stud where he lived until 2011 when I sold the property. Since then he’s been at a local livery yard with a friend of mine, Heather Chapman. She and I were with him together this morning. She absolutely adored him and I was being quite stoic, but then she set me off crying."

Read these next:

Trainer and senior staff member fined after allowing 'toxic workplace culture' to take root in yard 

Kitty's Light heads 31 Scottish National confirmations in bid for huge Christian Williams double 

Blow for Juddmonte as Classic contender Nostrum ruled out of 2,000 Guineas 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.